We Are Each Other – Ana Montiel of Alan The Gallant

In an effort to foster relationships and create dialogues with the creative forces that inspire us, “We Are Each Other” is an on-going series that spotlights designers in various design disciplines. These in-depth interviews and essays showcase our belief that we are all extensions of a larger artistic community, inspiring and motivating each other to new heights of imagination and innovation.

While ATG’s web work, album covers, identity pieces and neo-ornamental wallpapers are nothing short of enchanting (as discussed in Retrospective coverage from just over a month ago), I’ve got a little confession to make: as an inveterate words person, the thing that first tickled me about the ATG presence was the authorial voice of its delightfully courtly and urbane curator—Sir Alan The Gallant. Like many of Alan The Gallant’s press visitors, I emailed in hopes of securing an e-audience with Alan. To my chagrin, Alex Bedoya, ATG’s Business Partner, was the one to write back with some dire news: despite his larger-than-life persona, Sir Alan does not exist. Happily, I grieved very little over Alan’s non-existence; the ladies behind Alan The Gallant, the aforementioned Alex and Creative Partner Ana Montiel are, if possible, even more delightful than Alan himself.

In this week’s We Are Each Other, Alan The Gallant’s creative partner Ana Montiel talks to The Restrospective about design in Barcelona, her creative process, visitations by the muses and her obsession with music. In only a few short months when I move back to Madrid I hope to get up to the Catalonian capitol to share a cup of yogi tea with Ana and her cat in a patch of Spanish sunlight.
Y para nuestros lectores hispanohablantes, pulsen aquí—¡este exclusivo de The Restrospective viene también en español!
1. Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Ana Montiel, creative mind behind the design studio Alan The Gallant, and creator of the neo-ornamental brand Pattern Tales®. I studied fine arts, live in Barcelona and am 27 years old. Along with my associate Alex we are the resident editors of Barcelona for Luxe City Guides, the perfect activity to show my trend spotter side. I also write a blog in which I share things that inspire me (Pop Pervert). Oh! And finally, I’ve become addicted to vegetarian and hindu food and drinking yogi tea on my balcony, enjoying the sun with my cat.

Selected Work

2. Why “Alan?” Describe him for me.
Alan is the union of both of our names, AL (Alex, my associate in charge of business) and AN (my creative part). Sir Alan is based on a British fictional character—a touch of humor and creativity to our day-to-day. Alan is our free interpretation of a contemporary gallant from the 21st century. He is cordial, poetic, creative, timeless, and is full of humor and good manners. He’s a down-to-earth human, eccentric and sophisticated, but not a snob. We decided to have a fresh focus different from our corporate identity, and what better way to do it than with a being almost mythologically gallant and gentile that gently reins his creativity by applying it to every type of project and adventure? The character’s been so well liked that we have magazines calling us to ask for direct interviews with Sir Alan; sometimes we think he’s almost real, the big chief of our company. Hehe.

3. Who are your clients?
The clients of Alan The Gallant Multi-Talent Design Bureau are of every color and flavor… we’ve worked on everything from the L’Oréal group, for young designers based in Barcelona, cosmetics brands, and albums, to the complete identity set for a luxury camp in the Galápagos Islands! At the moment we’re extending our fan of clients: from interior designers to fashion, textiles, editorial houses, artistic institutions, etc. Alan’s creativity knows no limits.

4. Can you describe the Barcelona design aesthetic? Is it different from what one would find in, say, Madrid? And what differentiates it, globally?
It’s hard for me to describe an aesthetic unique to Barcelona… I see that there are different foci of creation, each with its own characteristics. With Madrid there is a difference; I see that Barcelona’s aesthetic is more refined in general, there’s more of a design culture. Now, the truth is that in general I see that everything is so globalized that it seems almost impossible to talk of local styles on a creative level.

5. How do you approach a new project? Can you describe your creative process?
Following, I’ll describe in a general manner how I develop projects for clients, (my own projects are less structured I must confess): at the start I like to have a brief, or clear objectives to create and then leave it to marinate in my head as you would with food. In this way in my process of research and daily reading, surfing the internet, watching movies and documentaries and things I can begin to link ideas that apply to the project. My approach to creativity, we say, is completely holistic, everything counts and everything can inspire. Later comes the hour of applied research to the project and of creation of moodboards and idea maps to develop a few solid conceptual bases from which I can later work graphically. After, depending, on the type of project, I begin to sketch and prepare a first presentation that could be almost like a history that strings together ideas. After client feedback I adjust and channel the project into a deliverable.

6. Tell me about a project that’s been a lot of fun for you to work on?
The most holy trinity of the family Gallant has definitely been really fun (Alan The Gallant – our design studio —, Pattern Tales—our neo-ornamental brand, —and Gallant Tales—our online store). Last summer my partner Alex and I had long meetings and brainstorming sessions until we arrived at our particular trinity. I don’t know if it was the yogi tea that made us delirious, but we laughed a lot. The names, the personalities of our brands, the creation of DNA for projects is always very fun for me—it’s like a game.
7. What musicians/bands are you listening to lately?
What a difficult question! I could spend days enumerating bands and soloists that I adore and listen to! I’m a hardcore music lover; music is my grand passion. Lately what’s heard in my house is The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Cineplexx, Jeremy Jay, The Wave Pictures, Stuart and Caan, Broadcast, Dan Deacon, Chico Buarque, Gary War, Beach House, The Circulatory System, Telepathe, Sam Cooke, Syd Barret, Ravi Shankar, The Pastels, The Olivia Tremor Control, Chico Buarque con Ennio Morricone, Animal Collective, Comet Gain, Django Reindhart, Deerhunter,lots of Reggae Roots from Studio One and Trojan… In the blog I write in every day (Pop Pervert) I share my musical passions and at the beginning of every month I do a countdown of the ten albums most listened to in the past month if you guys want to follow along. 😉

4 strangest places in which inspiration has hit you:
I don’t know if the places in which inspiration visits me are strange… Developing a creative work that is your passion, you end up working 24 hours a day, so of course you always have to carry a little notebook on you in case the light bulb goes off at an unexpected moment. More than the strangest places in which the muses come to my mind are my four key places or activities where ideas usually occur:

The shower. It’s a key place where the astral puzzle fits together. Hehe.
Seeing concerts I’ve also had to record ideas in my cell phone and auto-send it to myself via email. How ridiculous! Music is the thing that inspires me most.Cooking. When you cook externally, you’re cooking inside as well without even realizing it.On the bicycle. One time I had to stop in the middle of Barcelona to record an idea before I forgot, other times I forget before I stop!